Senators Raise Concerns About Justice Department Scanning Cellphones

Letter From Top Democrat and Republican Cites Privacy Interests of Innocent Individuals

The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking answers from the Justice Department about how often and under what circumstances it uses secret devices to scan large numbers of cellphones to hunt for criminal suspects, saying that one agency recently changed its internal rules on when and how to use the technology.

In a Dec. 23 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) and Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) said they have concerns...